2003 F-150 5.4L 11,996 miles with filter pics and magnet

[Food Scientist]

Wanted to post a UOA with filter pictures and did a little experiment. I used 4 neodymium magnets rated for a 45 lb pull around the filter to see if it would reduce the iron. It did not, not total, nor per mile. I ran out of 5W-20 oil and with it burning more oil I switched to 5W-30, so its not an apples to apples comparison to the previous oil change, oh well.

OIL Schaeffer Supreme 9000 with 5 quarts added. 2 quarts of make up oil were 5W-20, rest were 5W-30. Previous oil change was all 5W-20
MAKE UP OIL 5 qts 3 qts
MILES IN USE 11,996 12,034
MILES TOTAL 164,000, 152,000
SAMPLES TAKEN 1/19/19 and 5/8/17
Courtesy of Schaeffer Webscope

Code


Make up Oil(qts) 5 3

Miles 12k 12k

Date 1/19/19 5/8/17

IRON 44 29

CHROMIUM 5 3

LEAD 0 0

COPPER 13 13

TIN 0 0

ALUMINUM 14 8

NICKEL 2 2

SILVER 0 0

SILICON 16 8

BORON 7 1

SODIUM 200 227

POTASSIUM 3 4

MAGNESIUM 17 20

MOLYBDENUM 290 227

MANGANESE 1

ANTIMONY 39 19

CALCIUM 2289 1723

PHOSPHORUS 661 396

ZINC 746 931

BARIUM 0 0

WATER
OXIDATION 19.63 20.62

NITRATION 6.7 7.16

cSt @ 212F 8.45 8.64


You can see the circle where the magnet was on the outside. Pleats are wavy but no tears or holes that I could see.

 

[Kira]

I can only react to the aluminum and silicone discrepancies.

 

[Chesterr]

I was just watching a vid from car wizard on YouTube and he says change oil every 3 to 5k miles on a 5.4 so passages do not get sludged up. Fordtech makaluko also says it is a great idea to upgrade to a melling 360 hi volume oil pump on a 5.4.

 

[dnewton3]

12k miles in a year and a half; not much use, eh?

The wear rates ticked up in Fe and Al. It's too early to know if that's just normal variation or actual wear increase. More data needed. When you see Fe and Al escalating together in a mod-motor, it can be a sign that the cam chain guides are starting their failure. Keep an ear tuned for the slap/tap sounds at start up. I'm not saying that's a "fur shure" diagnosis, but it's a cautionary reminder to just pay closer attention.

I cannot recall the exact MY, but at some point the 5.4L went to 3v VVT; those can be problematic. But I think your's is 2v???

 

[Food Scientist]

dnewton3,

To answer your concerns/questions 2003 model year was the last year of the 2V. Previous results for iron and aluminum are 44, 37 and 10,9, respectively on 10k mile OCIs.

If this motor was to start wearing through a chain guide I might tackle that myself depending on how expensive/difficult it is. This truck is so rusty that my goal is 200k miles and around 220k it would need a new set of tires based on miles, so I don't plan on keeping it forever. It has other problems as well that would be expensive to fix, I'm better off just putting that money into another vehicle.

 

[1978elcamino]

I would run a few t6 5w40 through it @4k miles ea, that should give you aprox 3 oci's a year to clean up, after that see how it looks. IMO it looks very black and sludgey In my novice opinion.

 

[dnewton3]

5 qrts make up in a 12k mile OCI isn't small, either; almost a quart every 2k miles ...
You'll have to determine if it's worth the money to diagnose and fix issues. Much to consider in that regard.

regarding the cam chain tension-ers and guides; plenty of YT vids for that task.

 

[meborder]

1qt/2000 miles is what my 2006 would consume when using 5w20 oil.

switching to 5w30 has cut that in half.

it has been at 1qt/4,000 miles for the last 80,000 miles or so since i stopped using the 5w20, so it is very consistent and predictable.

food for thought.